Most Likely to Succeed
by TheLostMaximoff
Summary: It's been years since they've even spoken to each other but someone has marked the members of Generation X for death and now they'll have to come together just to survive.
1. Here We Are Now

Most Likely to Succeed

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Since Marvel apparently thinks a New Mutants reunion is a good thing, I thought I'd do one for the team they forgot. R/R.

Jonothon Starsmore studied the front entrance to the warehouse with the practiced concentration of someone who had spent too much time in law-enforcement. This fact was especially ironic considering his current team affiliation and their desire to break _a_ law in order to help uphold _the_ law. Such irony wasn't lost on Decibel and, with nothing else to do, he spent a few moments analyzing it. As the gears turned in his head, Jono's ears twitched in response to the irritating clicking noises that filled the car, noises that were interrupting the smooth flow of those mental gears.

"Quit with that rubbish," ordered Decibel as he looked to the passenger seat and watched Jubilation Lee attempt to type semi-coherent thoughts with her thumbs on a keypad so small it bordered on microscopic.

"Can't help it," explained Jubilee sheepishly as she grinned at something on the screen and then began clicking again after a moment's pause, "This thing is addictive." Decibel rolled his eyes as Jubilee continued playing with the Blackberry. He was under the impression that the lower profile the New Warriors kept the better they served their cause. Posting cryptic messages on their message boards didn't exactly constitute off-the-radar behavior even though Grace assured the whole team that any communication with the devices were heavily encrypted to avoid detection by SHIELD.

"How bloody long do we 'afta wait?" asked Decibel.

"Drop's supposed to be happening tonight," replied Jubilee without looking up from her screen, "That's all Thrash would tell us."

"Thought ya two weren't much on chatting these days," said Decibel.

"Meh," responded Jubilee, "I still don't trust him very much."

"You just like playing with his toys," commented Decibel.

"Like you don't," retorted Jubilee as she finally turned off the device and playfully punched him in the shoulder, "We know it's going down tonight. Just be patient about it."

"Not so much fer that, Jube," reminded Decibel as he turned his attention back to the warehouse, "Hang a tick, I think that's our bloke." Jubilee craned her neck to see past her partner and verify that their target was entering the building. Someone was funneling money into The Hood's criminal network. Rumor had it that it was coming from inside SHIELD so the New Warriors decided to do some digging. Any chance they had to pin a crime on Tony Stark and his people wasn't something any of them would pass up.

"Yeah, that's him," confirmed Jubilee as she quietly opened the car's door, "C'mon, we need to get in there."

XXXXX

Monet St. Croix studied her meticulously manicured nails with a level of diligence she never gave anything else currently in her life. She ground the file against them delicately and then studied the results. A flicker of movement caught her eye and diverted her attention to the ground below her. The object of her attention had just entered the warehouse. She had been following the man ever since she returned to New York City. With the O.N.E. studying X-Factor's movements extremely closely, Monet didn't want to be anywhere near her old haunts. Unfortunately, this client was paying X-Factor a lot of money to locate the man in question and Monet had an undying love of money.

"Other interested parties," decided Monet aloud as she saw two other shadows move through the night, "Competition is overrated." She put her file away and zipped over to the roof of the warehouse. M checked the skylight for any external alarms before simply crashing through it with little thought as to what would await her below. What awaited her below was an apparently empty warehouse. It only took her a second to realize her previous assessment was false. A fist connected with her jaw and, to her surprise, it hurt.

"You working with SHIELD too?" asked a faintly familiar voice.

"As if I would stoop," retorted Monet as she rubbed her jaw, "I don't know who you are but no one rearranges my face without me returning the favor with interest." Monet attempted to punch her attacker but her fist hit some sort of energy wall.

"Not enough bloody light in 'ere ta see but I know tha snark anywhere," assured Decibel, "That you, M?"

"Jonothon Starsmore," realized M as the wall of sound Decibel had created disappeared, "You look a little less . . . 'sunny' than you used to."

"No more powers, luv," explained Decibel, "Got a new face though fer all tha wonder it does."

"I can't say it's any improvement," said Monet as she looked to Decibel's companion, "I see you finally got rid of that yellow coat and those idiotic sunglasses, Lee. Good call."

"What are you doing here?" asked Jubilee.

"I'd ask you the same thing except it doesn't matter," replied Monet, "If you must know, I happen to work for X-Factor Investigations although these days we fly under the radar. Our client wanted us to find a Mr. Harold Drake and my search led me here. Obviously, someone crossed their wires because he isn't here."

"We were told Harold Drake works for SHIELD," explained Jubilee, "Word was that he was paying members of The Hood's gang for off-the-books favors. We saw him come in here to make a drop but we find you instead."

"A vast improvement no doubt," quipped Monet, "This little class reunion is cute but I have to get back to work." Monet lifted off the ground and flew towards the skylight she had come through. Unfortunately, at that moment slabs of steel slid over all the windows and the doors in the warehouse. Monet muttered under her breath as she cocked her fist back and slammed it into the metal slab blocking her way. Though her punch dented the metal it didn't break through it.

"This isn't good," realized Jubilee as she turned her suit and gauntlets on before taking her best swing at the metal blocking the door. Her punch did as much damage as Monet's but still didn't bring them closer to freedom.

"When did you learn to do that?" asked Monet in genuine surprise.

"You don't need mutant powers when you have the wonders of technology," replied Jubilee, "Give me a hand with this door."

"I don't recall anyone dying and leaving you in charge," retorted Monet.

"There's no time for this," said Jubilee, "We need to move or else something bad is going to happen."

"Afraid the gel's got a point," cut in Decibel as he motioned from where he knelt in front of an ominous black box, "I'm guessing this isn't a present."

"You think it's a bomb?" asked Jubilee, "Can you disarm it?"

"Maybe, maybe not," admitted Decibel as Jubilee dug her fingers into the top of the box and ripped it open for him to study, "I'd rather tha two o' ya smash tha door down."

"Right," agreed Monet as she flew towards the door and hammered it, "Come on then, Lee. I don't feel like seeing how invulnerable I am tonight." Jubilee nodded and helped Monet work on the door. Meanwhile, Decibel continued analyzing the bomb. He swore he saw Banshee disable a bomb once with his sonic scream but he didn't exactly have as much practice as Cassidy did. Still, desperate times did call for desperate measures.

"Ruddy tech's gotta be good fer somethin'," muttered Decibel as he focused the sonic abilities of his suit and hit the bomb with blasts of subsonic sound. He had no clue what the proper procedure was for this but he could see the timer hiccup whenever he gave the device a blast. Decibel realized he would have to dial up the intensity if he wanted to completely disable it.

"I think we're getting through," assured Jubilee as she looked back to Decibel, "How much time do we have left?"

"Not enough," answered Decibel as he hit the bomb with a loud, continuous pulse. He kept his eyes glued to the timer and prayed his stunt would work. He grinned as he saw the timer suddenly freeze and something in the box's inner workings spark and sputter. The clock went out completely and Decibel breathed a sigh of relief at his success.

"That was rather anticlimactic," decided Monet as the two girls managed to pry a hole in the metal large enough for them to escape.

"Ya weren't the one snippin' the wires, luv," reminded Decibel as he rubbed the sweat from his forehead and then got back to his feet, "Never wanna do that again." Decibel had only seconds to celebrate before some unknown force revived the bomb's timer. Without any further warning, the bomb exploded. Decibel threw up a sonic shield to protect himself but the force of the explosion sent him flying backwards. Monet grabbed him in mid-air and dragged him through the hole as the three of them escaped the building and dove for cover to avoid flying debris.

"Remote detonator's not a bad backup plan," realized Jubilee as they got back to their feet and stared at the flaming wreckage of the warehouse, "I'm betting that guy wasn't in there at all."

"Glad to see all that education paid off," sniped Monet as she dusted herself off, "I'm going to have to have a few words with my client and two of them will be 'more money'."

"I think there are two words that are more important right now," said Decibel.

"No two words are ever more important than 'more money'," assured Monet as she turned around to look at whatever Decibel was staring at.

"How about 'better backup'?" asked Decibel as the group of men in black suits pulled out their firearms and began discharging them at the former members of Generation X.

"Not even close," stated Monet as the bullets bounced off her skin while she flew towards the group of men. She grabbed one man's gun and snapped off the barrel of it without a second thought.

"These guys really should've done their homework," decided Jubilee as she and Decibel engaged the rest of the goons, "That says a lot coming from me."

"Your attitude is annoying as ever," said Monet as she hit the man in the jaw, "Just what exactly did you think you could accomplish with your little toys there?"

"We thought we'd get you close enough to do this," replied the man as he took Monet's punch in stride and then clamped his hand around the top of her head. Monet felt something sharp scrape against the skin of her forehead and surprisingly draw a tiny trickle of blood. Whatever intentions the man had, she didn't plan on letting him continue actually hurting her. Monet quickly slammed her fist into the man's chest and launched him across the street. The thug landed on his feet and licked the blood from his palm.

"These guys aren't human," said Jubilee as Decibel let out a sonic blast that blew most of them away before they had the chance to attack them, "It almost reminds me of . . ."

"Marius," finished Monet with disdain evident in her voice as she wiped her forehead, "I thought he was still trapped in whatever hell he came from."

"Guess not," said Decibel as the vampiric thugs surrounded the trio and leapt towards them for the kill like a pack of wolves. Jubilee caught one by the throat and slammed him to the concrete. Monet hit one with an uppercut that sent the man hurling into the air. Decibel blasted more of them away with but the men were relentless in their assault.

"We're not making any headway," said Jubilee as Decibel let out another large burst to blow all the men away, "Hitting them isn't going to do any good. Jono, you have to give them a bigger blast to keep them down."

"Hitting them is constructive for me," assured Monet as she took out her apparent frustration on another helpless thug by almost taking his head off with a punch. Decibel wasn't going to argue with Jubilee. Instead, he cranked up the power of his suit and let out a sonic blast that leveled all the goons and kept them down this time. However, it seemed one of them was tougher than the rest of his companions as he staggered back to his feet. Monet instantly recognized him as the one who had attempted to turn her head into a snack moments earlier. It was obvious that he was the leader of the group and therefore he would be the one to answer any questions she had concerning his condition and its relationship to her older brother.

"I see him," assured Jubilee as she slammed the man against the wall of a building, making sure to keep her exposed skin out of reach.

"You bear an unfortunate resemblance to my brother," said Monet, "Why?"

"I would think that's obvious," replied the man as he struggled against Jubilee's grip, "Let me go and I'll give you a more up-close-and-personal look at my condition."

"Pass," assured Jubilee, "You know anything about Harold Drake and his connections?"

"Harold Drake is a myth," stated the man as he smirked at his momentary captors, "Harold Drake doesn't exist except as a means to lure young, innocent flies into a tangled web."

"Poetry's overrated," said Decibel as he put his hand against the man's skull, "I can do pretty tricks with me hands too. Talk or I'll split yer skull wide open."

"He doesn't have to," realized Jubilee as she reached into the man's coat pocket and pulled out what looked like a photograph. Jubilee studied the picture and felt a sharp pain in her heart at what she saw. It was a class picture; taken probably only days after all of them had first walked through the doors of the Massachusetts Academy.

"What is it?" asked Decibel.

"Us," replied Jubilee as she held up the picture without turning her attention away from the man, "Is that Emplate's plan? He wants to try and take us out again?"

"Looks that way," answered the thug with a sly grin, "You can catch interesting flies if you know what web to create." Jubilee didn't wait to hear anymore from the man as she drove her fist into his face and knocked him out cold.

"Why would my brother wait this long to have his supposed revenge?" wondered Monet aloud.

"Don't know, don't care," said Jubilee as she held up the picture, "We have his hit-list, that's good enough."

"Most of us are already dead," reminded Monet, "Everett, Angelo, Sean Cassidy."

"Frost is too high-profile," declared Jubilee, "That just leaves the three of us."

"And Paige," added Decibel solemnly. It only took a second for the three of them to realize the same thing. Emplate or whoever was behind this had the means and resources to track the three of them down and lure them into a trap. It stood to reason that Paige was in the same danger and if they didn't get to her in time there would be another name to cross off the list.


	2. Reality Bites

Most Likely to Succeed (Part Two)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. R/R.

Paige Guthrie thumbed through her Computer Science textbook with a level of disinterest she rarely gave her schoolwork. The pride of Generation X, Paige was nothing if not a studious and quick learner. Unfortunately, like most things in her life lately, school just didn't hold the appeal it once did.

"I spent my teenage years dealing with sentient technology light-years beyond this," muttered Paige to herself as she placed the book on top of her face while she laid on her bed, "I might as well just go back to the Stone Age." Paige wasn't one to brag or posture but the material in the textbook was laughably simple compared to what she had dealt with during her time as a member of the X-Men. The problem, at least for Paige, was that she wasn't an X-Man anymore and her options were slim. She didn't have a desire to get back into that lifestyle but she couldn't exactly sit at home with her siblings and her mother. Paige had too much ambition to be another victim of small-town syndrome so she chose the most logical path. Paige chose to go to college but after only a month at Eastern Kentucky University she found herself a very large fish in a miniscule pond.

"Fortunately, there're always distractions," mumbled Paige to herself as she heard music blaring from the floor below hers. It seemed that someone was in the mood to throw a party and Paige couldn't really think of a better excuse to blow off her homework. Setting her course of action in stone, Paige hopped off her bed and began looking through her closet for something more appropriate to change into. She wasn't aware that a pair of eyes was watching her from afar, a pair of eyes belonging to someone with intentions more sinister than simply watching her change clothes.

"She's on the move," said the man in black as he tapped the radio in his ear, "I think she's coming your way."

"I'll be waiting for her," assured the voice on the other end of the line, "If this works we may not even need the special operative."

"Wouldn't rule him out just yet," said the man, "The other three got away from us. The boss won't be very pleased if we let the same thing happen to this one."

"And if she were 'damaged' during the transport?" asked the other voice.

"Stop thinking with your stomach and start thinking with your head," ordered the man, "Stay sharp and notify me if anything goes wrong."

XXXXX

"Remind me again why we couldn't have flown without the jet." Jubilee sighed as she looked at her former classmate and braced herself to answer Monet's request, such as it was, for what seemed like the millionth time in only one night. She remembered when everything was that simple, when you did what you were able to do without having to worry about power supplies or equipment malfunctions. Life with powers was simple. Life with gadgets was a completely different story.

"_You_ could have flown on your own," reminded Jubilee, "If Jono and I did that it would eat up too much of our power supplies and we'd probably burn out half through the fight all of us know will happen. We don't have powers anymore, Monet. All we have is tech."

"At least you have decent taste," admitted Monet, gesturing to the state-of-the-art jet belonging to the New Warriors that Jubilee and Decibel had "borrowed" for their trip.

"This is just the backup one too," bragged Jubilee, "At least the autopilot takes care of all the work."

"Coulda taken the express lane by yerself, gel," added Decibel in reference to Monet's inquiry about flying under their own power.

"It's very clear that we have a better chance of surviving if we stick together," stated Monet, "If Marius or someone working with him is intent on hunting us down then the last thing we should do is split up any more than we have to."

"Never knew you cared so much, M," admitted Jubilee.

"War makes for strange friends," responded Monet, "Not that I have to tell you two about war. You seem intent on waging one with Tony Stark."

"From what I heard, X-Factor isn't keen on registration either," pointed out Jubilee.

"A rash and ill-advised position taken by my boss," explained Monet, "I have no personal feelings one way or the other. As I told them when I signed the papers, I have nothing to hide. Why should I bother?"

"I'm actually so surprised you have a boss that I'm overlooking everything else," admitted Jubilee.

"He signs my checks," clarified Monet, "Well, maybe he does or maybe he just has one of his duplicates do it. I can never tell. The point is that he's only my boss in title. The poor man couldn't even lead himself out of our office building if his life depended on it." Both Jubilee and Decibel could tell Monet was visibly agitated while talking about Jamie Madrox but both of them also knew it would do more than good if they pressed the subject.

"Never pegged Paige as tha college type," said Decibel after a few moments of silence, "Well, at least not a college that didn't have an 'X' in it somewhere."

"Life takes weird turns," stated Jubilee, "It hits some of us harder than others."

"I assume you're trying to take a shot at me," said Monet, "Jealous much, Lee? Do I have something you want?"

"We're here," cut in Decibel before Jubilee and Monet could argue further on Jubilee's issues concerning the loss of her superhuman abilities, "It's only about fifteen minutes away so we should be able to fly there."

"I hope you don't get all your intel from the internet," said Monet as the three of them got up from their seats and moved to the exit.

"We've got people," confirmed Jubilee, "Why bother them though when you can get what you need off Google?"

"That statement speaks volumes about your philosophy of life," replied Monet with a sigh.

XXXXX

All things considered, this was certainly better than the last time Paige got drunk. Of course the setting was less volatile than the time she and Jonothon Starsmore had blown up a dorm building. Paige smiled to herself at the memory of her wild teenage years before she finished her drink. She noticed that there was an uneasy gait to her step as she moved to the fridge to get another one.

"Allow me," suggested a voice as a hand came out of nowhere to steady her.

"Thanks," said Paige as she steadied herself before turning her attention to the drink the young man offered her.

"Freshman?" inquired the boy as Paige took the drink and eagerly sipped it.

"Must be obvious," replied Paige with a grin, "First semester here. I live a floor up."

"Sucks for you," said the boy, "I hear the girls on this floor like their parties."

"Who needs to study?" asked Paige sarcastically as she took another sip of her drink, "This is good. My compliments."

"I'll have to make you another one then," said the boy as he took her hand and led her out into the hallway, "Maybe some place where there's a little more peace and quiet."

"What exactly makes you think I'm that easy?" asked Paige as she pressed herself against him more for stability than anything else. Something felt wrong. The room was spinning more than it should be and her body started to feel heavy.

"Well if you weren't before then you are now," replied the boy with a grin as Paige stumbled trying to get away from him and ended up falling against the doorway leading into the stairwell. All the X-Men training in the world didn't stop her from falling to the oldest and dirtiest trick in the college rulebook. Paige cursed herself as she tried to fight against whatever drug she had unknowingly taken but it was working fast and she could feel herself falling unconscious.

"I'm gonna kill you," muttered Paige sleepily as she tried to get back up and get away one last time.

"I'd do the same to you but the boss wants you alive," admitted the boy with a cruel grin as he tapped his ear, "Package is ready for transport."

"Change of plans," replied the voice of his leader, "Alternate targets are en route. You secure the package while we send the specialist to deal with them."

"Understood," assured the boy as Paige finally succumbed to the drug and drifted into blackness.

XXXXX

"I'm reminded why I never considered college," sniffed Monet in disgust as she moved past the drunken revelers and stepped into the freshman girls' dorm building, "I knew I was too good for it." Jubilee and Decibel's tech support had given them the location of Paige's dorm room. Since Monet was the most normal of the three where appearance was concerned, she had the unenviable task of retrieving Paige while Jubilee and Decibel made sure there were no surprises. Monet climbed the steps to the second floor and stopped as she spotted her target. A man young enough to pass for a college student had Paige cradled in his arms as he tried to head down the stairs.

"Had one too many," explained the man.

"I see that," replied Monet, "Unfortunately, her room is the other way. So that leaves us with the question of where exactly you're going with her." Monet noticed a trickle of blood drip from the man's fingers and hit the floor.

"Sorry," apologized the man with a grin, "I just don't like playing so much with my food." Monet took a split-second to digest the fact that the man was an Emplate before something sprang out of the brick wall behind her and grabbed her.

"Long time, no see," said Mondo as he began to squeeze Monet's ribcage, compressing her lungs and forcing the air out of them. Monet struggled briefly before kicking both of them backwards. Aided by her strength and her flight, the two of them hit the window behind them and crashed through it before hitting the ground below. Neither mutant was hurt by the fall but the landing made Mondo lose his grip. Monet slipped from his grasp and wasted little time catching her breath before rocketing towards him. She slammed her fist into his face with all the force she could muster, knowing that his brick skin would take a great deal of punishment.

"I suppose you're working for my brother too," assumed Monet as her punch rocked Mondo and she followed it up with another.

"Yeah, something like that," answered Mondo. He caught Monet's fist and tossed her into a tree, her spine cracking against wood that barely held up against the force.

"Bloody hell, not this sod again," muttered Decibel, blasting Mondo with a sonic pulse, "Couldn't he be one o' tha ones who lost his powers too?" Mondo stood his ground against the attack but it gave him pause long enough for Jubilee to tackle him and begin raining down blows on his skull.

"You're even more annoying than before," decided Mondo as he grabbed Jubilee by the back of her uniform's collar and dangled her in the air while he got back to his feet, "Go play with your useless friend." Mondo slung Jubilee into Decibel before turning around and allowing his face to meet Monet's fist. Mondo staggered backwards but as Monet swung again he mimicked the ground beneath his feet and slipped into it to avoid the blow. He came up behind Monet and backhanded her to the ground. Before she could get back to her feet, he quickly kicked her in the ribs twice to keep her down.

"Doesn't surprise me that you're not clear on what's happening," admitted Mondo, dropping his hammer-like fist down onto Monet's back, "I'd clue you in a little but it would spoil the surprise and, trust me, the boss is all about surprises."

"My brother's a devious asshole like that," retorted Monet as she clasped both her hands together and then drove them upwards in a blow that lifted Mondo off the ground and sent him flying backwards.

"I think someone's got a complex," jeered Mondo while he staggered to his feet again, "There some unresolved issues between you two?"

"You have no idea," warned Monet in a low, threatening voice, "You're obviously designed to waste my time. Where are the rest of your goons and what have they done with Paige?"

"Come and find out," dared Mondo, flashing her a cocky grin. Monet obliged him by flying towards him at breakneck speed. Mondo managed to grab her as she rammed into him and both of them went flying through a fountain in the middle of the square. Mondo quickly absorbed the water and stuffed Monet's face into his body. Monet struggled against his watery body as she fought to breathe. Mondo continued to force her head underwater, locking her arms as she thrashed violently to break free. It took only a few moments before her struggles ceased. Once Mondo was satisfied that she was unconscious, he spat her out of his body and watched her tumble limply over the ground.

"Alternate targets down," said Mondo into his radio as he returned to his normal form, "Someone needs to help me pick them up."

"Pick up is coming," assured the team leader, "We're almost finished with the two other extras."

"Understood," replied Mondo.

XXXXX

Marius St. Croix had been dead for a very long time, ever since he was shunted into a pocket dimension akin to Hell itself. When he first emerged from that torturous place, Marius took a new name. He became Emplate and since that day he only had one thing on his mind: revenge. He had waited a long time to take it and it had eluded him many times in his quest. Now there was a different thing on his mind. Emplate only thought of survival now and in a world where some ninety-percent of the mutant population had been erased, survival for a creature who fed off mutant bone marrow was difficult at best.

"My men have picked them up," said the woman standing beside Emplate's bed, "As promised, they'll be here shortly."

"My sister," rasped Emplate weakly, tilting his head to look at the woman.

"She'll be here," she promised, "Like I said when I approached you, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. You made my men stronger, faster, and tougher. You deserve a reward and I guarantee you'll get it."

"I'm tired," declared Emplate, "I can feel myself slipping back. I need to eat."

"I was lucky enough to get those bone marrow samples from hospitals," said the woman, "Soon you'll get a real dinner. Soon, we'll both get our revenge."


	3. Down In a Hole

Most Likely to Succeed (Part Three)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

Husk mumbled groggily as she opened her eyes and tried to wake up. She shifted her hands and realized they were clamped together. A quick tug let her know that those shackles were connected to a chain coming from the middle of the room.

"I've checked, it's too strong to rip out," assured Monet, "Any chance of you husking into a liquid or vapor that could slip through the manacles?"

"Nice to see you too, Monet," replied Husk, "I don't think I can do that or at least I don't think I'm comfortable doing that."

"You may not have noticed this," responded Monet as she held up her own shackled hands to indicate she shared Husk's predicament, "I really don't think your comfort level is of paramount importance at this point."

"Right," agreed Husk with a nod, "So how'd you get dragged into this?"

"Someone is targeting our class," explained Monet, "Jono, Jubilee, and I were lured to a trap in New York that almost incinerated us. After escaping the explosion, we were attacked by men afflicted with the same 'condition' as my brother. One of them had a class photo of us in his pocket."

"That guy at the party," realized Husk, "You think he was with them?"

"I know he was," corrected Monet, "A team of them were at your school waiting for us. Mondo was with them."

"I thought that guy hung out with Black Tom," said Husk.

"I don't bother keeping track," replied Monet, "Now that I've given you the full exposition, make yourself useful and help get us out of here. I'm sure the others aren't having an easier time with this wherever they are."

"Yeah, I got it," assured Husk as she closed her eyes and concentrated, "Just gimme a second to slip into something more comfortable." Husk took her fingernail and ran it over her opposite hand until she felt something crack and begin to peel off. She leaned forward and grabbed the flake of skin with her teeth, ripping it off her arm to reveal something else underneath where flesh and blood should have been. Satisfied that she had peeled off enough on her arm, Husk began working on her hand, still using her teeth and the fingernails on her other hand as tools.

"The sight of you doing this is something I haven't missed," declared Monet as Husk made quick work of the skin on her hand so that everything from her fingertips to her forearm was made out of whatever material she had chosen.

"Haven't had to do this in a while," admitted Husk, "I'm still really not comfortable with anything that's not completely solid. Good thing about rubber is that it's flexible. It can squeeze through most anything." Husk pulled her hand against the cuffs and managed to slip it out of them. This gave her more freedom of movement to work on peeling the skin from her other arm.

"It doesn't make any sense," contemplated Monet aloud, "My brother knows we're still mutants. Why would he bother to imprison us like this? Why not just eat us when he had the chance?"

"You really asking my opinion on how crazy your brother is?" asked Husk.

"I'm asking myself," clarified Monet, "I'm merely doing it aloud in case you wish to throw out any theories."

"Fresh out I'm afraid," admitted Husk sadly as she squeezed her other now-rubbery hand through the clamp, "I heard you were the detective these days. I figure you're full o' theories about things."

"My first one is that you should get me out of these things before something unpleasant happens," retorted Monet, "I thought adamantium could cut through anything. Why don't you just turn into that and get me out of here?"

"First off, I don't have a damn clue how to do that," explained Husk as she crouched in front of Monet and studied the manacles, "Second, I don't even know if that'll work. Gimme a few minutes on the first and then we'll see if I can handle the second." Both girls heard footsteps coming down the hall heading towards them.

"I don't think we have time for any further debate," said Monet as Husk quickly began ripping the rest of her skin off to turn her body into another substance.

XXXXX

"Basic problem o' havin' tech powers," said Decibel as he tapped his suit, "Batteries aren't always included."

"Like we'd be in a better boat if we had mutant ones," countered Jubilee, "They separated us out in case you hadn't noticed. If M's brother is running the show then he doesn't have any use for us."

"Except to kill us," reminded Decibel as he yanked on the chain connected to his manacles, "Any ideas on this one, Jube?"

"Maybe," admitted Jubilee as she reached up to her head and removed the pin in her hair, "This crap always works in the movies."

"Famous last words," replied Decibel as Jubilee tried to pick the lock on her manacles with the hairpin. Unfortunately, someone chose that moment to open the door and step into the room.

"The boss doesn't really have a use for you except to see you dead," explained the man as he entered with his partner, "Nothing personal of course." The man pulled out his gun and leveled it at Jubilee's head first. Before he could fire his gun, there was a crash as Husk slammed through the door of her cell. Both men turned towards the sound of the noise and that left Jubilee the opening she needed to kick the gun out of the man's hand. Another crash echoed down the hall as Husk ripped the door off of Jubilee's cell and came into the room. The two men opened fire on Husk but she barely noticed the attack as the bullets bounced off her metallic skin.

"I hear you fellas like eating people," said Husk as she cracked her knuckles, "Chew on this." Husk hit the first of the two men and then grabbed the gun out of the other man's hand. She elbowed the thug in the face and then turned to the first man who was, to her surprise, still standing. He reached for her with the mouths on his hands but Husk hit him again and took him down.

"Cuttin' it a little close there, sunshine," said Decibel as she searched the bodies of the unconscious men to try and find a key that would unlock the shackles.

"You're welcome, Jono," retorted Husk with a smile, looking up from her work long enough to see him, "I'm glad to see you again."

"Likewise, luv," assured Decibel, "Ya could help a bloke out though." Husk pulled out a keycard. She checked Jubilee's shackles and swiped it through the port on the device. The shackles unlocked themselves while Husk went on to repeat the process with Decibel.

"I'm still in here!" shouted Monet, "If you know how to let me out I'd appreciate it!"

"You couldn't have left her back in New York?" asked Husk sarcastically. She unlocked Decibel and went to help Monet before she threw another tantrum.

"Not once she found out her brother was involved," replied Jubilee, "Those goons took the power packs to our suits. We need to get them back or else Jono and I don't have any powers."

"One thing at a time," suggested Husk. She went back into Monet's cell and unlocked her shackles.

"My wrists were starting to chaff," grumbled Monet, rubbing her wrists as she stood up and headed into the hallway, "I assume those two idiots were like my brother."

"Yeah, I briefly saw the mouths," confirmed Husk, "Your brother is definitely involved in this somehow."

"I'm through with speculation," decided Monet. She flew down the hall, retracing the path the men had taken. More men poured into the hallway but Monet plowed through them to get to another room. A flock of Emplates quickly jumped her as soon as she got into the room. She threw them off of her but they entangled her enough for Mondo to hit her in the face with his rock-hard fist.

"I went to a ton of trouble to get you in those cells," reminded Mondo, "The boss isn't pleased when things don't go her way."

"Is she now?" inquired Monet, disentangling herself from the Emplates long enough to hit back.

"Where would those power packs be?" asked Husk as the other three young heroes entered the room.

"No clue," answered Jubilee. An Emplate attempted to attack her but she elbowed him in the jaw and then took him down.

"Doesn't seem to slow you down," noticed Husk with a grin.

"Nothing does," stated Jubilee, "You help Monet. Jono and I can take care of ourselves." Husk nodded and ran towards Mondo. Her feet left the floor as she jumped and hit Mondo in the face with a flying forearm. The attack caused Mondo to stagger backwards but it didn't knock him off his feet. He steadied himself and then hit Husk with an uppercut. Monet drove her fist into his gut and knocked the air out of him but he backhanded her to the floor in return. Husk jumped onto Mondo's back, clenching her legs around his waist while she hit him in the head repeatedly. He tried to sling her from him but as he tossed her aside she landed on her feet in front of him and kicked him in the stomach. Mondo finally grabbed Husk, lifting her over his head before driving her back down onto his knee and then discarding her like trash. Both girls regrouped and were about to hit him again when the situation suddenly changed.

"Enough!" The shrill voice of a female rang through the room and halted all action. Monet and Husk turned to realize that Jubilee and Decibel were at gunpoint and that someone new had entered the room.

"I can't say I've placed your face," said Monet. The woman in white gave Monet a disdainful look of contempt as if she was used to being disregarded. In fact, she was very used to disregard. She had experienced it all her life. It was the root of her anger and her jealousy and now she would exact a measure of revenge on those who ignored her.

"I'm not surprised," retorted the woman bitterly, "I should thank you though because you've underlined exactly what this is all about. I'm Cordelia Frost. I trust you remember my sisters."

"Yeah, one of them killed a good friend of ours," explained Jubilee, "What do you want with us?"

"I want all four of you dead," stated Cordelia simply, "All my life, I've always been the overlooked one. Adrienne was the oldest, Emma was the most successful, and I was nothing. All my life I've had to scrape and claw and fight for attention from anyone while my sisters got it on a silver platter."

"Again, why drag us into a family squabble?" inquired Monet.

"Emma got everything!" snapped Cordelia, "Emma even got to keep her mutant powers while M-Day took mine away from me! It's not fair!"

"Join tha club there, luv," suggested Decibel.

"I decided that I would take something from her," continued Cordelia as if no one had spoken, "For once in her life, I want to see Emma lose something the way I've lost everything."

"And these people?" inquired Monet as she gestured to the thugs, "You're obviously working with my brother unless there are other marrow-sucking leeches out there somewhere."

"He's been in so much pain after M-Day," said Cordelia in a tone that bordered on sympathetic but couldn't quite attain it, "I had my men break into hospitals and steal mutant bone marrow just so he could stay in this dimension. He knows about families and how cruel they can be. We're both getting our revenge this time."

"Didn't you wanna kill her last time I saw you?" asked Husk as she looked at Mondo, expecting a reason for him to join this insanity.

"Money mends fences," answered Mondo with a shrug, "I'm not a hard man to please."

"Kill those two," ordered Cordelia, motioning to Jubilee and Decibel, "They're just dead weight at this point."

"Wait," interjected Husk before the Emplates could complete their task, "You let Jubilee and Jono go and you can do whatever you want with me and Monet. Hell, you can feed us to Emplate for all I care but I want them free."

"Speak for yourself," cut in Monet, "Bad enough I have to be a part of Frost's leftover family baggage but there's no way I'm letting my own brother eat me."

"It's the only way to save them," countered Husk, '_C'mon, Monet, just play along here. I've got a plan'_. Monet's telepathy picked up the thought just as Husk knew it would. The two girls exchanged a glance before Monet grumbled something under her breath and held up her hands in surrender.

"Take them to Emplate," commanded Cordelia. Mondo moved forward to escort Monet and Husk to their doom.

"Just let me say goodbye," said Husk, "That's all I want."

"If you insist," conceded Cordelia, "Do it quickly." Husk nodded and went over to Decibel, taking his hands in hers.

"Don't do this, sunshine," pleaded Decibel, "Ya know this isn't right. We'll figure a way out of this."

"Don't say I never gave you anything," replied Husk as she leaned up and kissed Decibel on the cheek before moving away to rejoin Monet. Mondo grabbed both girls and hauled them away.

'_You know Cordelia's going to double-cross us the first chance she gets, right?' _asked Monet mentally as Mondo escorted them down the hall and herded them into a room.

'_I know,'_ came Husk's mental reply as Husk gave her friend a grin that their captor couldn't see, '_Like I said, I have a plan.'_


	4. The World is a Vampire

Most Likely to Succeed (Part Four)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

"Extremely touching," said Cordelia sarcastically as she watched Husk and Monet leave the room under Mondo's custody, "I think they're far enough away now. Emplates, kill them."

"You made a deal," reminded Jubilee indignantly as the Emplates cocked their weapons and readied to fire.

"Yes, I did," agreed Cordelia, "I didn't expect any of you to be this naïve. My mistake."

"She wasn't," assured Decibel with a grin as he slipped the object in his hand into the belt on his suit. The Emplates fired their weapons but a glowing barrier of energy stopped the bullets in mid-air before they ever got the chance to hit their mark. Jubilee looked at Decibel, realizing that he was responsible for saving both their lives, or rather his suit was now that it had a working power supply.

"Sunshine must o' taken 'em off Mondo," explained Decibel as he tossed Jubilee her power pack.

"Always like Paige to have a plan," added Jubilee. She plugged the pack into one of her gauntlets and turned them on, feeling the familiar hum of machinery while strength flowed through her. Decibel expanded the shell of sonic energy and it blew the Emplates backwards, scattering them in all directions and knocking them off their feet.

"Kill them!" shrieked Cordelia as if Jubilee and Decibel were both undesirable vermin such as cockroaches or rats, "Kill them, kill them, kill them!" The Emplates that were still up attacked the two New Warriors but Jubilee and Decibel drove them back. Sensing that the tide was decidedly not in her favor, Cordelia hurriedly fled the room presumably to abandon the building and her plot for revenge completely.

"How many o' these bloody things are there?" asked Decibel as more Emplates attacked them.

"Not enough to slow us down," stated Jubilee, "Paige and Monet are taking care of themselves I'm sure. I want to lock this building down. Once that's done, then we'll take care of Cordelia."

XXXXX

Mondo shoved both Husk and Monet into the room before going in himself and closing the door behind him. There was a foul smell in the air that reeked of death and something else that wasn't quite dead but should be. Both girls surveyed their surroundings, immediately noticing the bed in the center of the room and the machines hooked to its occupant.

"I'm impressed," admitted Monet, Mondo pushing both of them closer to the bed so they could verify that it was Emplate lying in it, "The tubes are, what, feeding him liquefied bone marrow to keep him in this dimension?"

"That's how Cordelia explained it," answered Mondo, "He's been bitching about not getting a real meal. Consider that problem solved." Mondo grabbed both girls and forced them closer to Emplate. The mutant vampire's eyes suddenly shot open as he realized that fresh prey was close enough for him to reach out and touch. His hands moved on instinct, shooting towards both Husk and Monet in an effort to consume them both at the same time.

"Not tonight, loser," decreed Monet, grabbing Mondo's arm and forcing herself away from her brother, "I didn't even want to be this close to him before he became a vampire." Monet kicked her feet onto the railing of the bed and shoved backwards. The momentum broke Mondo's grip on Husk but he used the free hand to lock in a chokehold on Monet. Husk wasted little time in peeling off her skin and slipping into another metallic form. Monet slammed her head into Mondo's face to break his hold. She slipped from his grasp and let Husk pound him senseless. Paige connected with two shots before Mondo grabbed her fist and quickly mimicked her metal skin.

"I was about to lose that old form anyway," said Mondo as he grabbed Husk, forcing her back against Emplate's bed and closer to imminent death. Monet kicked Mondo in the back of both knees, crippling him momentarily to Husk could drive her knee into his jaw.

"You said you had a plan," reminded Monet, "When can we reap the benefits of it?"

"How long can do you think your brother can live without being hooked up to those machines?" queried Husk.

"I don't care," retorted Monet, hitting Mondo again, "Whatever you're going to do, do it already!" Husk shed her metallic skin for a new rubber coating and then ripped the live wires out of the machines. She jumped onto Mondo's back, clenching her legs around his chest to hold her position before taking the crackling wires to both sides of Mondo's skull. Mondo howled in pain and struggled violently, desperately trying to throw Paige off while she continued to electrocute him. Monet began punching Mondo in the stomach repeatedly to distract him while Husk rode him like a wild bronco until he eventually collapsed from the electrical overload.

"Had to get him into a more conductive form and me into a less one," explained Husk, hopping off his back and dusting herself off, "Hafta say that's my best work."

"You developed an ego," commented Monet with an arch eyebrow, "I think my respect for you increased a little."

"Didn't know you had any respect for me," returned Husk with a grin.

"I didn't," confirmed Monet, returning the smile with her own, "Now I have a little. Don't get your hopes up too high, Guthrie."

"Always do," declared Husk, turning her attention back to Emplate, "I can try to get those machines back on."

"Leave it the way it is," ordered Monet, calmly walking over to her brother's bed, "If he doesn't get enough food, he'll just go back to his own dimension. I want him to suffer before he goes home."

"I deserve . . . no less," agreed Emplate, his breathing labored more than just from his respirator, "Kill me, Monet. I don't want to . . . go back to that hell again."

"All the more reason why I'm letting you live," retorted Monet viciously, "Did you think I forgot what you did to me, Marius? Did you think I could ever grant you any small amount of mercy after you imprisoned me in that torturous body? It's time for _you_ to suffer now. See if you enjoy it when the tables are turned." Monet turned her back on her brother and walked out of the room. Husk trailed after her and both of them realized that Jubilee and Decibel needed some extra assistance dealing with the rest of Cordelia's men. Neither of them realized that they left a starving Emplate alone with a whole body full of fresh mutant bone marrow.

XXXXX

"Frost ran off," said Jubilee in between fending off attacks from the Emplates, "These guys are starting to drop like flies. Did you do something to Emplate?"

"We should've," muttered Husk, "I doubt these guys have fed in a while. We need to find Cordelia. If she got away then she's just gonna start this crap all over again." Decibel and Jubilee halted their attacks once they realized that the Emplates were slowing down, even falling unconscious.

"We don't know where she went," reminded Monet, "We don't even know what city we're in."

"Best way ta do that is get it from them," suggested Decibel as the four of them surveyed the carnage, "Yer tha telepath, Monet. Pick one and see what's in his head."

"An appealing idea if ever I heard one," said Monet, walking over to one of the Emplates and crouching down so she could get closer to him. Monet reached out and put her hand on the man's head, careful not to clench it too tightly lest she crush his skull. She began the mind-probe slowly as if sticking just her foot into a pool before deciding whether or not she should dive in. The water wasn't fine at all, far from it in fact. It was murky and scummy but Monet knew she had to dive in at some point. She could see faces, remember names, relive moments. All of these men had checkered pasts and had done questionable things long before her brother's influence turned them into monsters. All she needed was a name, a face, anything that would tell her where Cordelia would have gone.

"We're in New York," announced Monet, "Frost International has its headquarters in Boston. He doesn't know anything beyond that but I assume she would run home if things went badly."

"Find out whatever else you can," ordered Husk, "I don't want any surprises or any other crap tonight."

XXXXX

The anger burned hot in his dead veins. The rage mixed with his gnawing hunger and drove Emplate to the brink of insanity. He wouldn't go back, not now and not ever again. All he had to do was find a new food source. It was fortunate enough that his sister and her friend had provided him with the perfect one.

"Yes," muttered Emplate to himself as he rolled off his bed and clawed his way towards Mondo's unconscious body, "So close now." He could feel the adrenaline and anticipation course through him as he inched closer and closer to his incapacitated prey. He would finally have a real meal after being fed through tubes for months. Emplate's fingers grazed against Mondo's metallic hide and the miniscule contact gave him enough energy to grasp Mondo's shoulder. The second his grip was secured, the mouths began their work of ripping through Mondo's steel flesh in order to suck on the precious bone marrow beneath it.

"You don't want to end my suffering?" asked Emplate, latching his other hand on Mondo's body while his strength returned, "Well, little sister, maybe I'll add to yours and see if it changes your mind." Emplate let out a monstrous roar, his skin changing to metal through his appropriation of Mondo's powers.

"That can't sound good," commented Husk. Monet ceased her mind probing, turning her attention to the noise emanating from the hallway.

"We left my brother in that bed," realized Monet, "I didn't think there was any way he could get to Mondo. Apparently I was mistaken."

"Ya can't be serious," said Decibel, "We gotta fight that sod too?"

"Looks like it," answered Jubilee before dodging the freight train that was Emplate as it roared into the room, slamming Monet into the far wall.

"Kill me!" shouted Emplate, pulling Monet away from the wall and then slamming her into it again, "Kill me!"

"You were always quick to throw your little temper tantrums," said Monet, weakly struggling against her brother's grip, "I see that hasn't changed in all these years."

"We can't waste time with this," decided Jubilee, "Jono, take him out so we can go after Cordelia." Decibel nodded before launching a sonic attack on Emplate. The sonic waves echoed through Emplate's metallic ear canals, reverberating inside his skull until he could barely form coherent thoughts. Rattled by the attack, the mutant vampire let go of his sister and staggered away.

"Guys, something's going on," said Husk, realizing that Emplate's children were beginning to rise to their feet once again.

"Marius, you unbelievable ass," stated Monet, "Stop controlling these pathetic losers and get over it already." Emplate seemed as stunned as the others by the resurrection of his children from starvation-induced unconsciousness.

"I don't think that's what's happening," realized Jubilee.

"We are hungry father," stated one of the men, tilting his head from side to side as if he was an animal rather than a human being, "You gave us life but now we're starving."

"You were mistakes," retorted Emplate, "Cordelia made you what you are. You're nothing to me."

"We are something," corrected the man as Emplate's vampiric children suddenly closed in on him, "We see you, father. You're a mutant too and we see it. You know what we do with mutants, father. We eat them for lunch." Emplate's children struck like a pack of hungry wolves, pouncing on their father and wrestling him to the ground. Emplate fought them off as best he could but their numbers proved too much.

"We need to help him," decided Husk.

"He tried to kill us not two seconds ago," reminded Monet, "He's tried to put us in the ground more than once. What goes around comes around." The four of them had little time to discuss it. Some of the Emplates broke away from the feeding to attack them.

"Don't think we haven't forgotten about you two tasty morsels," snarled the man as the group attacked Husk and Monet specifically. Both girls fought back with Jubilee and Decibel aiding them but the group of Emplates began to overpower them with strength in numbers just as they had done with their father.

"We're going to finish the job we were paid for," stated one of the men, "Perhaps we'll take a little bit extra just for pleasure." The man clamped his hand over Monet's head, the mouths gnawing through her indestructible skin with ease as they searched for their precious meal. Another group of men held down Husk while more of them kept Jubilee and Decibel from intervening. Monet and Paige screamed in pain but their cries were outmatched by a shriek of fury. A pack of Emplates flew in all directions as their father broke free and came to the aid of his sister.

"Ungrateful, spiteful children!" snarled Emplate, swiping the men off of Monet, "No one touches my sister!" He tore the vampiric creatures away from Monet, throwing them against walls and anything else that was nearby. One of the men grabbed his brother as he flew backwards. The mouths on the man's hand tore into the other goon's skin, stopping his momentum and giving him a taste of blood. The two creatures realized that they could feed from one another and soon they were fighting with one another.

"Get out of here," ordered Emplate while he attempted to shield Monet and the others from the bloodbath that ensued.

"Why did you save me?" asked Monet.

"Because I don't want you to die," retorted Emplate, fending off his children in order to keep them from attacking Monet or the others, "If you'll excuse me, I believe there's a rush for the buffet line and I don't want to be left out." The former members of Generation X extricated themselves from the melee, leaving Emplate and his children to fight amongst themselves. They slammed the door behind them, Monet and Jubilee bracing themselves against it to keep anyone from getting out of the room. Husk quickly formulated a plan, tearing off the door to one of the holding cells and propping it against the door to keep it shut.

"We need to get to Boston," said Jubilee, "Someone grab Paige. We're taking the express lane this time."

"What about them?" asked Husk, gesturing to the bloodthirsty brawl that was still going on in the next room.

"Are you seriously going to suggest we help him again?" asked Monet, "Let them kill each other for all I care. With M-Day making mutants an endangered species, it isn't like they have a long life ahead of themselves if they survive."

"Hate ta say she's right but she is," agreed Decibel, "More time we spend here, tha farther away Frost gets." A roar and the sound of something splattering on concrete punctuated his statement. Husk bit her lip and silently nodded her agreement. Cordelia Frost was the bigger threat at this point. If she got away then she would only send more people to kill them until the job was finally done. Paige knew that she and the others were going to put a stop to it tonight and nothing would stand in their way.


	5. Closing Time

Most Likely to Succeed (Part Five)

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

She could still fix this. Her revenge hadn't completely slipped through her fingers just yet. She could fix this small mishap and she could still kill those damn kids. Cordelia Frost muttered under her breath, the doors of her office in Boston swinging open. She hurriedly raced to her desk and pulled out the drawers to search for an ace up her sleeve.

"Were you looking for something important?" Cordelia almost jumped completely out of her skin but settled for banging the top of her head against an open drawer in her panic and haste to execute whatever contingency plan she had devised. The youngest Frost sibling rubbed her head and looked up to realize that tonight would be the night for more reunions than just Generation X.

"What are you doing here, Emma?" asked Cordelia, her eyes nervously darting in different directions in an effort to discern how to escape from her predicament.

"Adrienne tried this," warned Emma, holding up a small metal device that looked like a detonator, "Is that really your master plan, Cordelia? You just want to be like your big sister?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," assured Cordelia, "You're trespassing by the way. I still own part of this company and I won't hesitate to call the police if you don't leave."

"You have this building wired," explained Emma, studying her nails as she spoke, "You have a helicopter on the roof waiting for your arrival so you can make your grand escape while those children will be trapped in here to die. This is a repeat, Cordelia. This is a repeat because you are too vapid and mindless to come up with anything new and have to steal ideas from your dead sister of all people."

"So what do you plan on doing?" inquired Cordelia nervously, "You plan on blowing the building up and surviving due to your new diamond form powers?"

"Always so overdramatic," replied Emma drolly. She transformed into diamond and crushed the detonator in her hand, "No, Cordelia, I'm going to calmly walk away after making sure history doesn't repeat itself and let my former students deal with you."

"I hate you," snarled Cordelia while Emma turned her back to leave, "I hate you, Emma!"

"It's good to know some things never change," retorted Emma, turning to give Cordelia one final smirk before leaving the building. Cordelia cursed under her breath and began to legitimately panic. It was falling apart even faster now and she couldn't hold it together any longer. Her main plan was gone and now she didn't even have a safety net. She was ruined, completely ruined and all because of her stupid sister who still got everything she wanted while Cordelia was the one clawing and fighting for crumbs and scraps from the table of life. She had to get out of the building before her pursuers arrived.

"I'll get you for this," snarled Cordelia in a low, threatening tone as she scurried towards the roof so she could get to her helicopter. She raced up the stairs as fast as she could and then burst through the door to the roof. She would simply escape into the night and find a more convenient time to execute her revenge. She could still win. She could still . . .

"Good thing we decided to land on the roof," decided Jubilee, flashing Cordelia a grin while the others relieved the vehicle of its crew, "We almost missed you."

"No, this isn't fair," cried Cordelia, "I had you in the palm of my hand until my stupid sister had to ruin it! It's not fair!" Monet suddenly grabbed Cordelia by the throat, lifting her into the air and dangling her precariously close to the edge of the roof.

"Let me tell you about how 'fair' life is," said Monet, "I was there when Adrienne blew up Everett. I held his lifeless body in my arms. Was it fair that I had to lose someone I cared about? Was it fair that my brother became a monster through his own arrogance? Is it fair that some of my friends lost their powers like you did? Don't talk to me about what's fair, you cowardly, sniveling excuse for a human being. You've lost your chance at revenge. Take another and you'll lose more than that."

"Monet," warned Husk sternly. Monet rolled her eyes and roughly deposited Cordelia back onto the roof, making sure it was a painful process but one that she would live through. Husk put herself in between her former teammate and Cordelia as the Frost sister stood up and dusted herself off.

"As if I would waste my energy hitting her," sniffed Monet in disgust, "I don't have any desire to break my nails on her face."

"So what now?" asked Husk.

"We've got friends that can make sure she has bigger problems," assured Jubilee, "Don't worry too much about your money though, Frost. It'll go to some very nice charities and you'll still have plenty of it left. Consider it a warning if you ever think about coming after us again." The quartet turned their backs on Cordelia Frost and moved towards the edge of the roof to descend to the streets below.

"I can give you back your powers," promised Cordelia, desperately trying to gain some sort of leverage, "I can make things like they were. I can . . ." Her words were lost in the sobs. Her words, however, didn't fall on deaf ears. Jubilee stopped and turned her attention back to their obviously beaten opponent.

"A few months ago, I would've taken that offer without a second thought," admitted Jubilee, "You can't change the past though. All you can do is live with it." Again, Jubilee turned away from Cordelia Frost and rejoined her friends. Monet grabbed Paige before all of them stepped off the roof and floated safely to the ground below.

"It's been an interesting night," admitted Monet with the smallest of smiles, "All things considered, it was nice seeing all of you again."

"You learned how to actually compliment people," observed Jubilee, "I'm thoroughly shocked."

"I could take it back if it would make you feel more comfortable," offered Monet. Jubilee shook her head as all four of them turned their attention to the horizon and the dawn breaking through the darkness.

"Lord Almighty, the sun's comin' up," realized Husk, "Guess I'll have to skip class if I wanna get some sleep."

"We should get back to the base," decided Jubilee, motioning to Decibel that it was time to take to the air again, "We should have plenty of juice to make it back."

"Guess it's time ta go, sunshine," agreed Decibel as he turned his attention to Husk, "It was good though." Monet rolled her eyes and was about to make gagging noises had not Jubilee grabbed her and dragged her away so that Jono and Paige could have a private moment.

"Have to say you always manage to surprise me," admitted Husk. She took the time to actually notice Decibel's face for the first time even though his costume kept the bottom half slightly covered. It was habitual at this point for Jonothon Starsmore to only show half of his face because once upon a time he only had half a face to show. The past was gone now and, unfortunately, only the present remained.

"Face isn't tha prettiest one around, luv," assured Decibel, gently moving Husk's hand away to stop her from pulling the scarf down so she could see it in its entirety. This action resulted in him clasping her hand and neither of them minding it.

"A lot of things have changed between us," said Husk.

"Ya sure?" asked Decibel in return, "Doesn't look that way ta me."

"Guess the past isn't so dead after all," admitted Husk with a sheepish smile, realizing that he was still holding her hand, "I've got the time to catch up with you and the others if you want to."

"Thought you were too busy with class and sleep," reminded Decibel.

"I'm a college student," retorted Husk, "We never get to sleep."

"Could be nice then," said Decibel, turning his attention to Monet and Jubilee, "Ya interested in hanging out a little more?"

"Only if you find some real clothes," replied Monet, "That outfit is atrocious, Starsmore. Obviously Jubilee helped you design it. She has no sense of style."

"I'm the queen of style," corrected Jubilee, "I guess Jono and I could kill the time if you kids can."

"I suppose I can stand to be around the three of you a little longer," relented Monet, "Just keep the misty-eyed sentimental nonsense to a minimum."

"You're so easy to please," joked Husk, "C'mon, let's get something to eat. Gotta be something around here that's open twenty-four hours." The four friends walked away from the building as the sun continued its ascent into the sky, laughing and joking as if time had moved backwards and they were still students of the Massachusetts Academy. Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them from the shadows. The sound of air flowing through a breathing apparatus emanated from the shrinking darkness as Emplate watched his sister and her friends walk away.

"There will be another time for revenge," decided Emplate aloud, "For now, dear Monet, you and your friends enjoy your reunion. You gave me the biggest meal I've had in years. I assume this moment's peace will be a sufficient show of my gratitude." With that, Emplate faded away like a ghost, leaving his former adversaries to bask in the glory of a new day's dawning.


End file.
